MFL - thoughts on

[queenrep]

Has anyone got any information/advice about MFL or similar degrees at:

UCL
KCL
QMUL
RHUL

DS has visited and spoken to them all but just wondering if anyone has any direct experience? He is particularly interested in the language side of MFL degrees as opposed to literature. Birkbeck also a possibility as they do the 2 languages he's interested in.

Why just London?? Very narrow choice!

If DS wants MFL and could get into UCL or Kings, why would you look at the other two? Just not the same calibre in my opinion. What does he think he might want for a career? If it’s MFL teacher, it won’t matter. If it’s a very competitive area of work, it will.

MFL students are getting rarer. Universities want them. They are not overly choosy - except a few! So why not look at Oxbridge? AAA is still the requirement I think. Certainly put Bristol, Exeter and Durham in the mix. Which languages?

Don’t limit him to London unless he’s nailed on to get UCL or Kings

My DS had a bad time with languages at Exeter, very limited modules, very little contact time. Agree that offers are low and probably lowering.

MFL never has a huge contact time. You have to be a self starter. It’s not like school. UCL wouldn’t be any different. Even worse as possibly more native speakers in London. My DD did the MFLs she did at A level. Ab initio is really hard in my view. But MFL is a grad degree and you do have to stock teach to an extent. I don’t think Exeter is the best for MFL but it’s ok from London. Bristol is better. It sure about Birmingham which is also easy to get to. I agree that looking at possible modules is worth it.

If he's fixed on London and is a keen linguist would he not consider SOAS and maybe adding a lesser known language ab initio?

Soas doesn’t compete with UCL or Kings and definitely has native speakers in some languages. It’s low ranked when compared with UCL.

Soas is very much about Middle Eastern, Asian and African studies. Cannot find French, German, Spanish etc as MFL. They don’t list MFL as a subject area. I really would avoid unless you already an Arabic speaker etc.

I think UCL is strongest overall but the range of languages/areas of strength is also a bit different from KCL. I agree with previous poster that MFL (even eg French) has declined a lot at A level recently and as a result even very competitive places are easier to get into than you might think. Worth considering Ox and Cam though those are quite literature-focused courses for the most part.

As someone who has a pure MFL degree I would strongly consider doing a joint honours course instead. It’s not very employable as an MFL only degree.

Thanks for the replies. The reason he's not applying to Oxford is it's so literature heavy. He is fixed on London. Ab initio is what appeals to him - ideally he'd like to do at least 2 which is impossible except at UCL possibly, unless anyone knows differently?

Jk1988 interesting. Any recommendations? His non language A level is Maths (A*) which he says is boring.

My dad graduated from St. Andrews last year with an MFL degree - two languages continued from A level and one ab initio. She has just started work as a trainee chartered accountant so not sure that employability is a problem - she’s been told that fluency in other languages is an advantage at her employer.

dad = dd (obviously!)

A good combination would be business, finance, economics etc there’s lots of different options though. I found that my language skills got me interviews for generic jobs because employers liked the year abroad experience and soft skills like communication and problem solving but apart from that the job prospects seemed to be sales or teaching. On the plus side as pp’s have said you can get into higher ranked universities on language degrees. The students I know that have done very well did international business with languages.

DD is having a great time at Edinburgh but is definitely a resilient, self-starter. Most RG universities go into clearing for MFL. Exeter goes in very low (has been 3 xCs in recent years).

I think you can do European law with languages too? I knew a couple of really interesting people doing that as undergrads.

Cardiff and Edinburgh very good and both offer 2 languages without literature.

My DD has a joint honours MFL degree and is a barrister. Several of her friends are barristers with MFL degrees too. So you are employable if you can decide what you really want to do.

I would not suggest European Law unless you check 100% the course is recognised here without doing the law conversion course. You would only do one language with Law but that’s a distinct possibility with MFL and maths A levels.

I don’t believe more than 2 languages is worth it. It makes the year abroad a rush and simply won’t be great for the third language - there won’t be time to improve language acquisition in depth.

I simply don’t understand why he would not look beyond London. I think that’s somewhat immature. Literature is a bedrock of understanding language and culture. I actually think you need it to show you are capable of reading and analysing texts. It’s what quite a few jobs will see as important - not accountancy possibly! I do think larger numbers of languages are a talking point (my DD did some medieval French) but this won’t get you through arduous selection tests! Or show an employer a range of skills.

Choosing a university like Durham, UCL, Warwick, Bristol or Nottingham gives career advantages. Planning a career strategically is advantageous too and MFLs do allow for a wide variety of careers if you pass all the selection tests and have a decent cv.

Which language(s) is he interested in? He can do 2 or 3 at QMUL, but if he is ab-initio in his main language he will have to wait until second year before picking up his second language.

I did MFL at Bath University, and in its day it was considered as academically demanding as Oxbridge, but more modern and without the medieval poetry! I had to get AAA to get in, which in those days was quite an ask. Looks as if it is still highly regarded. Worth considering? You can do 2 languages at once and they can be ab initio I believe.

Bath does not really have a MFL department in the way other world leading universities do. More allied to business use and far less depth. However great for business and a MF bug in other ways limited.

I don’t get why bright people won’t do medieval language. Why not push yourself? Learning isn’t wasted and poetry and views of medieval writers adds value to the languages. Language isn’t just about speaking it. The culture of the language is also important and even its history. These aspects don’t stop a young person being very employable.

Interesting BlackLambAndGreyFalcon so say he wanted to do German ab initio, he could start that in year 1 and continue with it as well as another language, say Portuguese in Year 2?

@queenrep

Interesting BlackLambAndGreyFalcon so say he wanted to do German ab initio, he could start that in year 1 and continue with it as well as another language, say Portuguese in Year 2?

That is correct for QMUL.

DD is at Warwick doing MFL - 2 languages from her A Levels and another ab initio. She is having a great time, reasonable amount of F2F learning and currently busy planning year abroad (3rd year) and looking for an internship for next summer.

History and Modern Languages at KCL:

www.kcl.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/history-and-modern-languages-with-a-year-abroad-ba

No personal experience but have heard good things

I’m a huge fan of Birkbeck, huge. But … for a school leaver it may not be the experience that they are after (though those I met on full time degrees, so evening classes but three years had a great time and access to UoL halls etc). But it is a different beast to other unis.

UCL is standout in my opinion because it has the added benefit of the School of Slavonic Studies which adds some interesting languages to the mix. London is a great place for languages because of the diversity and learning alongside native speakers might actually be a bonus for some (I appreciate it won’t be for everyone) but I just see that as more immersion.

That said, lots of the other suggestions are great. Perhaps DC should spread more widely. UCL plus four others spread wider.

@dreamingbohemian
DS doesn’t seem to be doing a history A level. That is usually a requirement for History degrees at a RG university.

Why is there a need to do more than 2 languages? It makes the year abroad an issue. Definitely 2 languages but 3 proves nothing to employers. Unless they need 4 languages of course. But few do. It’s better to do 2 and do those in depth.